For those interested in the M103 heavy tank, here is a gallery of pictures we took two years ago of what appears to be an M109A2 on display in front of the National Guard Armory at 700 W Prairie Ronde St in Dowagiac MI. As can be seen in the photos, this vehicle is in desperate need of a new paint job. Also, the rear engine grills and engine deck are completely missing, having been replaced with some thin sheet metal! Oddly enough, wikipedia lists 25 M109 tanks on display in the United States, although this particular vehicle in Dowagiac is not included in that list. These were taken on a very sunny day with a relatively cheap digital camera so some shots are a bit washed out.
From the Editor: M103 Heavy Tank in Dowagiac MI Picture Gallery
April 9, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Pentagon announces entire fleet of AFVs to be replaced by GAVIN
April 1, 2015 by 2 Comments
APRIL 1, 2015 – Defense News Daily is reporting that the US Dept. of Defense has made a stunning announcement that they will be replacing the entire fleet of tracked vehicles with a new family of vehicles. The “Ground Armored Vehicle Information Networked” (GAVIN) is being touted as the most technologically advanced armored vehicle in the world. At a Pentagon press conference, General Michael Sparks stated that “the GAVIN maximizes the lethality and effectiveness of the US Army war fighter by providing an unprecedented level of information awareness of the battlefield environment in 360 degrees real time. GAVIN features an electronic system architecture supporting advanced applications, a necessary step toward fully digitized Land Combat Vehicles that will be fielded as part of the follow-on Phase. This advanced weapons platform promises to be a revolutionary force multiplier, giving American heroes in uniform unrivaled capabilities in target acquisition and the delivery of freedom any place on the globe.” [Read more…]
From the Editor: M56 Scorpion Gallery
April 1, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Here is a photo gallery of the M56 Scorpion that is on display at the VFW Hall in Marcellus Michigan. These photos were taken in mid 2013. The M56 was produced in relatively small numbers in the 1950s for use by US airborne forces. It saw limited use during the Vietnam war. Despite having not been produced in great numbers, quite a few M56 vehicles survive as static displays. The M56 Wikipedia page lists sixteen Scorpions on display, although the list does not include the Marcellus vehicle.
From our Readers: Sexton wrecks in Italy
March 28, 2015 by Leave a Comment
A Tank and AFV News reader from Italy has submitted some interesting pictures of some Sexton SPGs used as range targets in Italy. These vehicles differ from standard Sexton SPGs in that they were re-armed with the 105mm Obice da 105/22 gun (but still retaining the original 25 pounder gun recoil system.) These two wrecks are located at Cape Teulada, at the Italian Army training range. The reader who submitted the pictures states that he and two others of the 1st Regiment were ordered to select 14 vehicles from the Italian army armor storage area at Lenta in November of 1986 to be transported to the firing range. Of the 14 Sexton SPGs that were selected, one was retained as a monument at the barracks while the others were used as range targets. (This information was sent to us written in Italian, we have translated it as best as possible using Google translate.)
Q & A with Jim Warford about Soviet/Russian Armor
March 25, 2015 by 5 Comments
Tank and AFV News recently had the chance to do a Q & A with retired US Armor officer and writer James M. Warford. Mr. Warford was commissioned in Armor in 1979 as a Distinguished Military Graduate from the University of Santa Clara, Santa Clara, California. Mr. Warford has held a variety of Armor and Cavalry assignments, ranging from tank platoon leader to brigade S3, and has served as a tactics instructor both at Fort Knox, Ky. for AOAC, and at CGSC, Fort Leavenworth, Kan. Upon retirement in September, 1996, he was awarded the Silver Medallion of the Order of St. George. He has written numerous articles for ARMOR, the official journal of the Armor Branch, many of which focus on Soviet and Russian armor. He is also a regular contributor at the online forum TankNet.com.
T&AFVNews – You served in armor from 1979 to 1996. Can you tell us what positions you held during your career? What vehicles types did you command?
From the Editor: More Aberdeen Pictures
March 19, 2015 by 3 Comments
Semovente 47/32
Here are the rest of my old photos from Aberdeen Proving Grounds circa 1981. These were previously posted on my old blog. These vehicles are no longer located at APG. These were taken by my father with a cheap 110 film camera when he was stuck in Aberdeen for several weeks due to his job. The quality of the pictures is not great, but they do show the state of these vehicles in this time period. If you look carefully, you can see on both the Tiger tank and the Panther tank how the side of the turret has been covered over with sheet metal. The turrets on both of these vehicles had been cut away so museum visitors could see inside them back in the 1950’s
From the Editor: Tank Boulevard APG
March 18, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Heavy Tank MKVIII 1919
A couple years ago I scanned a set of old photos I had of the vehicles at Aberdeen Proving Grounds and posted them on my old blog. I have moved them over here where they will be more accessible. While the quality of these pictures is not great, they do give an idea of how the vehicles were displayed circa 1981. I’m starting with the pictures from “Tank Boulevard” which was a long row of US vehicles set up chronologically along Maryland Boulevard as one entered the base.
Interview with Harry Yeide – Part 2: Fighting Patton
February 25, 2015 by Leave a Comment
Harry Yeide is a foreign affairs analyst with the federal government in Washington, DC. He lives with his wife, Nancy, in Hyattsville, Maryland. Mr. Yeide is the author of eight books on World War II history, focusing primarily on US Armor. He has a website at yeide.net. Earlier this month he agreed to talk with Tank and AFV News.
Posted below is the second installment of the two-part interview.
Part 2: Fighting Patton
Interview with Harry Yeide – Part 1: US Armor in World War II
February 25, 2015 by 2 Comments
Harry Yeide is a foreign affairs analyst with the federal government in Washington, DC. He lives with his wife, Nancy, in Hyattsville, Maryland. Mr. Yeide is the author of eight books on World War II history, focusing primarily on US Armor. He has a website at yeide.net. Earlier this month he agreed to talk with Tank and AFV News.
Posted below is the first installment of the two-part interview.
Part 1: US Armor in World War II
A Brief History of AFV News by George Bradford
February 19, 2015 by 8 Comments
Editors note: Some of you may have noticed the similarity between the name of this website and the long running publication AFV News. While the similarity in names was not intended, we have been fortunate to have gotten the attention of AFV News publisher and book author George Bradford of Ontario, Canada. Mr. Bradford has been kind enough to share his extensive knowledge of all matters pertaining to tanks and armored vehicles with us (and also catching some of our typos!) He has graciously provided us with a history of the AFV News Bulletin for us to share with our readers. While AFV News is no longer published, its legacy lives on at the AFV News Discussion Board at Com-Central. Mr. Bradford’s vehicle plans and blueprints are available at AFVplans.blogspot.
AFV News magazine 1966 to 2010
By George Bradford
I was about 32 when I first took a serious interest in armoured vehicles. At that time (about 1963) I published “ARMORED VEHICLES from their conception to the present times” a small illustrated booklet attempting to show little line drawings of every tank built to that date. This was sold to all the armour contacts I had at the time, and later to AFV News subscribers as well. At this time I had also been subscribing to a little wargaming magazine called “TABLE TOP TALK” by Jack Scruby out of California. I wrote a few articles and did some artwork to improve the cover design for Jack, and all this must have planted the seed for AFV News. There wasn’t much out there on AFVs, but Merberlen in the UK did have a nice series of Bellona plan view drawings coming along, for which I was assigned to do cover illustrations. Also out of the UK was the renowned series of AFV Profiles, which appeared on a regular basis.
Tank and AFV News 